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22.9.12

Hey Friends! I'm back in the kitchen now that my exam is over and I am so happy to be here! Hopefully I'll post more regularly and have time to start tackling some cool dishes that I've been wanting to do for a while. I'll share everything with you as I go. :)

Want to eat the best salad of your life? Make this salad!!! Seriously the best thing ever. Plus, it plates up beautifully so your dinner party guests will be wowed by how "fancy" it is. While it is a bit of work because you have to make all of the components prior to assembling your salads, if you prepare the components the day before, then you just have to plate it up when your guests come over. Its an awesome dinner party dish.

All of the below recipes are from the cookbook No more Secrets - recipes from the Cow Bay Cafe by Adrienne Johnston.

First, make the spiced pecans.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp corn syrup

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 large pinch chipotle powder

1 1/4 cups pecan halves

Method:

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a 30 cm piece of foil on a flat, heat-proof work surface (I used my cutting board).

In a medium bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, salt and chipotle powder. Add the nuts and mix well. Spread nuts on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 12-15 minutes, stirring every five minutes until golden brown.

Spoon them onto the prepared foil and cool slightly. Quickly separate the nuts and cool thoroughly. Store in an air-tight container.

Next, make the blueberry dressing.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup tarragon vinegar

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp ground ginger

zest and juice of one lemon

Method:

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, place the blueberries, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon stick, ginger and lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Then remove from heat and cool. Refridgerate until ready to use.

17.9.12

Well, its time for SRC's Group C reveal again (seems like that was the last time I even posted last month... shame on me). Super excited about the blog I had this month and wishing I had more time to test out recipes this month! I was assigned Mommy's Menu this month - Toni is a stay at home mom to seven children in Utah!! Can you believe that she still has time to blog? My excuses look pretty weak now! I absolutely love how creative her blog is and I loved the wide variety of recipes she had available to try. I settled on something quick and adapted it to what I had on hand, but I can't wait to come back and try out her Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bars and her Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies. Both of them looked amazing!!

I settled on making Toni's Lemon Raspberry Muffins (in a slightly adapted version using what I had on hand). The results were delicious! Hubby has been eagerly devouring these babies!! Check out the link for the unadapted recipe... see below for my adapted version. Both I'm sure would be equally as delicious!!

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cream, water, and oil and mix until combined. Add all at once to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add berries and fold through batter (don't over mix or you will have tough, pink muffins).

Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tins, filling each tin approximately 2/3 of the way full. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until spring back slightly when lightly pressed.

Let cool on a rack. Enjoy!

So, thats that. Make these, they're amazing!! And check out Toni's blog - you'll find loads of recipes you need to make. I found her blog quite addicting - not unlike pinterest!! :) Thanks Toni for the great recipes to choose from - I'll definitely be back to snoop around some more (only this time I won't have to lurk!).

About Me

I love cooking & baking. In my spare time I find I'm always experimenting in the kitchen. My experiments don't always turn out, but most of the time they're edible. These adventures in my kitchen bring me great joy when friends and family enjoy what I've created... hence the reason I keep experimenting!

My favorite way to unwind is with a great book and a glass of wine (preferably a new wine I've never tasted - I tend not to buy the same bottle of wine twice)!